


Neji's Romance

by Raraku27



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-17
Updated: 2018-11-04
Packaged: 2019-04-24 04:52:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 14,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14348343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raraku27/pseuds/Raraku27
Summary: There is a strange young woman in town, and Neji cannot get her off his mind. Despite the fact that she is in a strange new place she finds she has the same problem.





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1  
She awoke and her life seemed a blank slate. Who was she, where was she, what was she? The light filtered through the dense trees that seemed to go on forever, whichever way she looked, turning her head from side to side, feeling the earth move beneath her head. Lying there on her back, she closed her eyes as the soft warmth of the filtered sun touched her upturned face, she smelt the soft loamy earth and the smell of slowly decaying leaves, mixed with the scent of crisp fresh air, as can only be smelt in an area surrounded by densely packed trees.   
In his high backed chair, situated in a circular room overlooking an expansive spread of colourful houses, a white haired man jerked his head up in a startled motion, the paperwork he had been busy with spilling into the floor as he looked up. He stared out of the windows overlooking the village that fell under his care. “Hokage-sama?” came a low masculine voice from the other side of the room, the youth, his long hair tied up in a spiky ponytail high on his head, looked curiously at him with bright, intelligent eyes, that despite his lazy drawl, were focused sharply on his superior. The sound of him clearing his throat snapped the white haired man, whose face was mostly covered by a dark black cloth, back from his intent study of the village, which showed signs of a recent destructive battle. No, it was beyond the village, whatever it was.  
“Shikamaru, get Neji, Kiba and Hinata, tell them I need them for an important mission right away”, his selection choosing those that he knew were best suited for the task of search and find, those that were available any way. The youth called Shikamaru nodded and turned, running out of the round office, wondering if it had anything to do with the strange pulse he had experienced just a moment before, and knowing full well that probably every other ninja in the surrounding area had just felt the same thing.  
Walking briskly out of his office, the man with the spiky white hair, also known as Kakashi, and as his feet hit the grey concrete floor outside his office he bit deeply into his thumb. He tasted the iron taste of blood as his teeth penetrated his skin, with the resulting overflow of blood he drew a line on the floor, yelling “Kuchiyose no jutsu”, with a not so subtle amount of smoke there appeared a group of dogs, each one stranger looking than the last, and seated on the head of the largest dog was the smallest of the lot. Dressed like they all were, in a similar garb to what the man that summoned them was wearing, with some variations. The green and blue combinations of what seemed to be a uniform amongst several of the people wandering around the village, including the youth who was now running down the street.  
Shikamaru had run into a team of three youths, two young men and a girl, and quite luckily, he thought, a fourth young man who stood talking to the group. The striking similarities between two of them instantly placed them in the same family. They both had long sleek hair, one the darkest shade of blue black, and the other a deep shade of mud brown, but the similarity that classed them in the same blood line was their eyes, the iris was of the palest colour, almost translucent, and the absence of a pupil made them look almost ghostly. The boy was wearing a loose combination of white pants and shirt, the pants covered in a second layer of dark green, that went up to his knees. The girl in turn was wearing almost all blue, from the dark blue pants, strapped down by a bandage wrapped around her thigh, to the loose jacket that was just tight around her ample chest, which sleeves lightened from the shoulder on out. They were accompanied by two more boys, one with short brown hair and an animal like face, the features enhanced by the two triangular shapes painted on his cheeks, the other, also with short brown hair only had his eyes visible above the collar of his coat, and these in turn were covered by heavy duty dark goggles. The rest of his head was hidden in the folds of a deep green hood. “Kiba, Hinata, Neji! Ohaio!”Yelled Shikamaru, “Hokage Sama is asking for you, he wants you for a special mission!”, at his yells, a huge white hound emerged out of the nearby bushes, looked at the youth with the red stripes on his face and bounded in the direction of his voice. Without any hesitation three of the four peeled off and followed the hound, which was now following Shikamaru as he turned on his heels and ran back down the street. “What about me?” mumbled the youth in the hood, as he stood, once again just the forgotten member of his team.


	2. Chapter 2

“Yo Kakashi”, came the customary greeting of the smallest dog in the group that had just appeared out of the substantial puff of smoke. Kakashi stood back, leaning jauntily on his heels and tilting his head to the side, in the manner that Kakashi was well known for, even when he became Hokage, he still kept to his slightly goofy mannerisms. As he inhaled to prepare the hounds on the mission, their attention was drawn to the street as footsteps came pounding towards them. “Ah there they are. Ok Pakkun, now we can get moving”, he addressed the small dog.   
As they started on their run out of the town, Kakashi started explaining what exactly it was they were doing. “My morning of paperwork was interrupted by a strange sensation, almost like a pulse of pure power. It felt like something small but very strong punched me in my gut.” “We all felt it too” interjected Neji, as they ran “we were just discussing the sensation when Shikamaru arrived”. “As it stands, I have no idea what it was, but we have to find it, which is why I gathered eyes and nose. I still feel a dull pulse at the moment, but I cannot pinpoint it exactly, just the general direction of it.” Kakashi told his fellows. Kiba chuckled “don’t worry Hokage-sama, we will help you find it!”   
Lying there, her eyes closed, she felt her world slowly expand, the darkness behind her eyes no longer the only thing she lived in. She could not remember how long she had been in that endless darkness. Now her senses expanded, before she opened her eyes she knew she was surrounded by trees, she sensed their closeness, she felt the network of roots beneath her, the trunks surrounding her as she lay at the foot of a particularly large and old tree. Whether it was one of any significance she could not say, she just knew that it had been there a long, long time. As she felt the trees, she started noticing other life forms, bugs, lots of those, and birds, even occasionally a larger creature passing by, causing a disturbance around her. Then as she spread her senses even further, she stopped. People. A whole lot of them, and close by. What was it? A village? A town? Her curiosity was awakened and she decided to explore. She pulled in her senses, keeping them only alert enough to warn her of danger nearby, and moved her limbs for the first time, in what seemed like ages.  
They passed through the large archway that held the gates to the town, and headed onto the main road to and from their beloved Konoha, turning into the dense forest after just a few minutes of running. Both Neji and Hinata had changed their appearance just a bit, their eyes now showing pupils. Their eyes were surrounded by veins that seemed to pull out the paler version of a pupil, this allowing them to see much more than the average human or even ninja. Their counterparts, Kiba and Neji, using their enhanced sense of smell, were accompanied by the group of ninja dogs, fanning out in a search formation. As they ran, searching in a wide arc, the evergreen trees that surrounded Konoha and made up the vast plane of trees, flew by in a blur. Their passage would every now and then disturb an animal or a flock of birds. Konoha was not named the leaf village in vain, as the vast forest surrounded it for miles, and it was here where the group was searching, covering as much space as they could, the dogs in the lead and Kakashi close behind, trying to catch variations in the vague pulse that called to him like a seductive siren. Not since the discovery of the jinchuuriki had he felt such a surge of power, not even Pain had generated such a kick to his senses, when he revealed himself, and since it was an unknown source he had to locate it fast, he had to absolutely determine whether it was a threat or not. The village was his number one priority, and no danger would be tolerated, they had been through too much already.


	3. Chapter 3 (The meeting)

Neji focused on every small detail that came into his sight, which was everything, his concentration unwavering as they passed through the mass of trees. He searched continuously for any sign evidence, any trace of the chakra that had caused such a disturbing pulse, that had disrupted all of his incredibly sharp senses, even for just a second. This was a worrying aspect and he did not like feeling cut off, not even for a second. The pulse had put him on alert, every hair on his body standing on end, as if an electric current had just passed through his body. Turning his head slightly to his left, his cousin, Hinata moved swiftly beside him, having experienced the same effect of the pulse, they had been ready for Kakashi’s call. His long dark hair streamed behind him, as his long open sleeves flapped in the wind created by the movement of his run, his handsome face set in the usual slightly arrogant expression, which was slightly marred by the fierce concentration in his eyes. Pale eyes peered intently at every slightest movement, seeing even the smallest ant on its way from collecting food for the nest. This continued for while until he encountered an almost blinding force of chakra, a small area of it, but its glare was an intense ball of blue, radiating out from a body lying half covered in foliage.  
She felt her joints creak as she tentatively began moving her limbs, wondering how long she had been lying still for them to feel so stiff, she frowned and her curiosity increased as she watched leaves float down from her clothing, onto the forest floor, which was also covered with a thick layer of dead leaves. Looking down at herself, she realised she was wearing a pair of short blue pants, which when she shifted slightly, felt almost too short for her liking, but they were made from seemingly sturdy material, which was comforting to her. Her shirt was made of softer material, with long, flowing sleeves, a semi-low cut and ending just above her sky blue pants. Noticing the dirt and green stains on her clothing she thought to herself that she must have worn them for a while, but she could not recall ever owning such clothing, then again, she did not recall much as all, not even her own name came to her, which she realised must be strange, but it did not bother her much. It came to her attention that she was barefoot, another odd thing, why would she be out in the forest without any shoes? Slowly she looked up, her senses had just kicked in, and while there was still not much emotion to speak of, she felt some curiosity towards what she sensed to be a very large group of, she thought, humans. Moving forward, getting used to the feeling of her body, her joints slowly waking up again, she headed towards the multitude of auras that she could sense, many of which were strange to her. As she moved she realised that she must be strong, as she felt muscles ripple beneath her skin.  
Neji and the others approached the now walking figure with caution. Who knew what it was capable of? None of them knew the true extent of its power. Moving into a defensive formation, he and Kakashi made their way to the centre of the group, being the two strongest members present. Even though the woman on his left shared some very visible family traits, he outmatched her by far. Something he had held over her head for many years, the hatred for her branch of the family burning within him, but which had recently been relieved due to an abrupt change in his circumstances. Slowing down the group spread out silently so that they could surround the object of their focus, making sure that she could not escape, trying their utmost to look non-threatening, though with Kiba and Akamaru present that illusion was slightly stunted.  
After several moments of waiting for her to respond to their attempt at a non-threatening approach, Kakashi stepped forward, Neji stepping in behind him to cover him in the event of a sudden attack. It bothered Neji slightly that she seemed to be pointedly ignoring them, her eyes searching for something in the distance. Looking past Kakashi, he had time to size her up, and he noticed, with an uncomfortable feeling, that she looked capable of holding her own in a fight. Even with his eyes deactivated he could tell that she had strength in her arms and legs, and she held herself with the grace of a fighter. As his battle training took hold and he started to focus on the details of the person in front of him, she started turning, and Neji became uncomfortably aware that she was undoubtedly a very well developed woman, abruptly tearing his eyes away from his study. The dark haired woman turned slowly to face their group, carefully and coldly studying each of them, tense at first, but after a few moments of tense silence, she relaxed her shoulders, indicating to them that she was not about to do anything drastic, and while the atmosphere lifted slightly, it was still awkward. This did not change when Kakashi made his first attempt to engage her, she looked over to him in a confused manner and shook her head slowly, as if trying to rid herself of water in her ears. It occurred to him that she might not understand their dialect, and she seemed to be having difficulties comprehending what was being said, until all of a sudden her eyes lit up and she responded fluently but slowly, as if she was testing out her tongue for the first time. “I greet you Kakashi sensei” she replied to the slowly spoken introduction that had been repeated several times by Kakashi, “I wish to know where I am situated, it seems I have entered a territory that is unfamiliar to me, I believe this area is familiar to you and that I am in the proximity of your home.”  
The reaction in their group was instant, the tension became palpable, she not only knew that their beloved village was nearby, she also knew exactly where they had come from. Shifting positions slightly they moved into attack positions, quick looks were exchanged and he noticed that no one present was all too comfortable with this sudden revelation, their village was supposed to be warded against unknown intruders.  
She wondered at her own sense of calm, especially considering the fact that she was now surrounded by the strangest looking group of people. Not at all surprised by their arrival, she had known they were on their way a few minutes before they landed behind her, she had to marvel at the stealth in their approach, but something within told her that, to her, they were no threat. A cocoon of calm surrounded her and her control over her emotions was iron, even though she felt the adrenalin run through her veins, ready to engage her fight response at any sense of danger.   
Motioning to get her attention, the white haired, masked man was speaking directly at her, but what he was saying was a mystery to her, she could not understand the language her was speaking, it was a strange but interesting sounding language, so she focused her mind on the individual words being formed. Slowly she shook her head from side to side, and she realised that with each passing moment, the words became clearer and comprehension started forming, then, with a snap, she understood what was being said, and, surprising herself, she replied slowly but fluently in the exact same language. AS she spoke she took the moment to inspect the group surrounding her. There were three males, one female and two canines, or at least what seemed to be canines, they both seemed slightly strange. She noted the similarities between one of the males and the female, their eyes showing them to be related in some fashion, even their looks and bearing spoke volumes of their relationship, smirking, she knew all was not good between the two. Beside the female stood a male with an animal like face, who obviously had a close relationship with the first canine, an overly large white creature with hound like features, they moved in such a manner that told her they had been together for an extended period of time. Her eyes were drawn to the metal plates tied around the members of the group, on various areas of their bodies, but the majority of them residing on the foreheads of their respective owners, each one with the same recurring symbol. She could not help but wonder who these people were, each with their own interesting aura surrounding them, yet none posing a threat in any way. Their auras told her that they were not what you would all ordinary in any way, each one of them had their own unique well of power, it would be such a bother if she had to attack them, and since she was in a place she did not know, she did not see the harm of letting them escort her to their home.  
Her stance changed, her shoulders relaxed slightly and she seemed to slump slightly. She was no longer an immediate threat to them. Kakashi sensei attempted a tenuous smile, his single visible eye creasing in the telltale manner, he put his hand behind his crazy mop of white hair that stood up behind his forehead protector, an obvious sign of his relief. In a gently persuading voice he told her to follow them and, still in their formation, they headed, slowly at first towards their hidden village. It took longer than usual, since they would normally not do this at a walking pace, as such, however, they could keep an eye on her and block any attack that might come from her. Neji kept his eyes trained on her, not an unpleasant job, he found himself smirking on the inside, his byakugan activated and observing everything she did in the slightest detail. He could not help but notice that there was something different about this girl, she was, as noted before not a normal civilian, but even to the unusual standards that he and his fellow ninja held themselves there was something odd about her. Ahead of them Akamaru, the big white hound, had obviously lost patience with the slow pace that they were keeping and started bounding and leaping around them in a playful manner, all tension lost from him. This set Kiba to chuckling, as he watched his hound gambolling around, trying to engage him in their usual play while taking strolls through the forest.   
Smiling she started picking up the pace, spurred on by the playful nature of the hound, she too just wanted to get going, an urgency boiling up from deep within, the more she moved, the more strength she felt emanating from her and she wanted to test out her limits. She was tempted to test out the speed of her escort as well but decided against it, as this might be seen as a flight attempt, and just lightly pushed them to greater speeds, without seeming to run. After a while she became lost in her thoughts, the motion of running sending her into a trance, she remembered a saying that said, knowing something like the back of your hand, this did not apply to her in this case, she hardly knew her own hands, she felt completely lost in her own body.   
The four humans around her matched her pace and together they broke into a run. They kept their pace, running as the trees slipped past. A few minutes later, however, they came to a clearing and she just could not resist, she took off sprinting at top speed, longing for the sunlight she saw sparkling on the bright green of the foliage growing in the rather large clearing. Ignoring the yells behind her she nearly tumbled off the cliff that she had missed, and for the first time she laid eyes on Konoha.  
Breathing deeply she finally looked over the place that had caught her curiosity a while ago, it was beautiful. Set in a depression within the earth, surrounded by a lusciously green forest was the home of the four humans and two canines behind her. It was a large spread of buildings, many houses of shapes and colours were visible below her, the streets teeming with life. There were many layers of motion, the streets full of pedestrians and even the rooftops showed the occasional flicker of motion as she realised there were people leaping from rooftop to rooftop. Slowly she focussed on the details, and it became clear exactly why the town seemed to be all bustle, there were many areas that showed a large amount of damage, the largest concentration of people surrounded such areas. What had done such a large amount of damage? These people were obviously in the midst of recovering after some sort of calamity and whatever it had been must have been something especially huge to have done such a large amount of damage. She vaguely recalled a flash of an image from a battle and the destruction such an event could cause, but pushed it aside as the young man with the dark hair stepped towards her.  
“Konoha” he said and gestured towards the town, that was closer to a city. His pale eyes looking over it with a fond tilt to the corners. She joined his gaze and noticed the unique formation of the village, it spread out from the base of the cliff like a fan and looking down to the origin of the village, she noticed there were several carvings protruding from the cliff face, but what they were she could not quite make out yet. Stepping forward, as close to the edge as she could, she looked straight down and saw a building that seemed to anchor the entire village, if it had been the usual layout of a village, this surely would have been its centre.  
Stepping forward, Kakashi interrupted this strange woman’s scrutiny of his village. “Welcome to Konohagakure, the village of the hidden leaf, home to us and some of the most powerful ninjas in the country” he said this with as much authority as he could, making sure she knew she could not harm his village without encountering strong opposition, since she was still a threat in his mind. Thus letting her know that despite the dishevelled look, they were not quite vulnerable.


	4. Chapter 4

Standing in the circular office of the building she had seen form the top of the cliff, she calmly looked into the singular eye of the white haired man sitting at the table, this pegged him as someone very important in the village, but she could not help wondering, why the face covering? Was he badly scarred or malformed? Whichever it was, she could not tell just by looking at him, who knew, maybe she would find out later, if she managed to stay that long. She pulled herself from her contemplation when she heard the intake of breath, which meant someone was about to speak.  
Taking a deep breath, he asked her the one thing she dreaded most, “What is your name?” his deep voice carried easily across the room, and although he asked kindly, she flinched, looking straight at him, she shrugged, struggling with all her might to remember the name she knew must be hers, but which eluded her constantly.   
A look of concern flickered across Kakashi’s face and seeing her internal struggle, asked her another question to cover the first “where are you from?”, little knowing he was making it worse, and she helplessly shook her head and shifted uneasily from one foot onto the other. Again she saw that flicker of concern and sympathy, and for some reason she felt a prickling sensation of irritation, she was not some poor helpless lost child. Despite the large hole that was forming inside her, slowly filling with questions and emptiness, she raised her chin and looked the seated man right in the eye. She did not hold his gaze for long though, as Neji moved into her field of vision, she focused on him and slowly the irritation flickered and a slow warm glow spread, temporarily covering the darkness within her. She did not know why but he seemed to anchor her, and the warm glow within her started taking the shape of the very correct young man standing beside his Sensei’s desk. Quickly she tried to erase such foolishness, but it had already taken hold and for a second she felt a slight heat creep up her neck as her green eyes met with his pale ones.  
Her eyes snapped back to Kakashi as he resumed speaking, “so, since you are clueless to your identity and it seems it may take time to regain your memory, I wish to offer you a place to stay, however, we do not have many intact homes to offer you."  
“Hokage-sama” came a deep voice from her right, eliciting a shiver down her spine, “the Hyuuga house has many rooms that are currently unoccupied and, with lady Hinata’s permission, she could stay there for the time being.”   
She smiled, Neji had just taken authority, something he seemed very familiar with and poor Hinata probably did not have all that much to say about this matter either way.

The words had erupted before he could check himself, but once uttered, he could not rescind the offer. Why had he had such a surge of sympathy? This was not something one would associate with himself, yes he was loyal and very mission oriented, but he did not often reach out and take someone under his wing. Her stance had pushed him just that bit further, since the lost and unhappy look mirrored the one he used to carry in his recent past, yes, that was it, that was the reason for his action, he identified with her. Well, either way, he was stuck with her now, thankfully the Hyuuga mansion and its accompanying grounds were enormous and had mostly survived the previous disaster intact, so he could avoid her if he wished. Kind-hearted Hinata would care for their guest and his contact with her would be minimal. Satisfied, he looked over to Hinata, who, without hesitation, agreed to his suggestion and in her soft, kind voice officially offered the stranger a place in her childhood home. She was, after all, the heir to the Hyuuga clan, being from the main branch of the family, and even though you could never tell, actually held all the authority while her father was away.

Together with the two Hyuuga, as she had picked up the family name, she was escorted towards, what she assumed, was the mansion she would be calling home soon. As they kept their brisk pace, she sensed awkwardness between the two figures walking just slightly ahead of her, the young woman with her long dark hair glimmering in the sun, almost shied away from the man whose hair almost rivaled that of the girls, despite being a dark brown rather than a black. Turning her senses away from them she spread them out towards the village, counting the hundreds of people that currently resided there, softly grinning as she touched the aura of two familiar people, they had been there since the moment she had left the Hokage’s building, keeping just out of her line of sight. This did not bother her in the slightest, as she knew that no sane leader would let someone that had called an entire team into action just wander freely around their village and she knew there were many secrets to protect here.

Finally reaching the Hyuuga mansion, or what looked like a small village, they entered through a large traditional archway that revealed a very cultured and precise setting, every inch of the large garden seemed planned out. She had expected the mansion to be large, but this lead to the extravagant. It had its own separating wall, keeping the mansion enclosed from the rest of the village, the courtyard itself being huge, not mentioning the buildings that surrounded it. The courtyard had almost a field of clean, well raked sand, the light colour contrasting against the dark polish of the wood present on the walkway, from which many doors lead into seemingly expansive rooms. Turning her head, she heard the clack of a water feature that she could not quite see, but she heard the gentle rush of water as it moved back and forth. She sensed she had stepped into a whole new world of wealth. Strangely she noticed there was none of the expected rush of servants, gathering to meet a master, oddly enough the entire complex was silent, save for the clack of a bamboo water feature, she assumed that they could probably not have that much authority, after all they seemed quite young. This revelation struck her quite hard; they seemed to be close to her age! She had not considered that her age was important at all, and it seemed to be the first thing she found out about herself.  
Quite a bit later, as the sun was setting on this extremely long day, she was settling into a strange room, wearing strange clothes in a mansion that was not her home, where she found she could breathe deeply again. Despite outward appearances, she had been quite tense for most of the day, the quick tour of the premises not helping with her fatigue. She was sure her hosts had noticed this, since after the third time she misunderstood a simple question, she was quickly ushered into this echoing, empty room. Yet she was not quite alone, faintly she still sensed the presence of her watch. The silence that came with the almost empty room fell like a heavy blanket around her, bringing with it a weariness she had been trying to keep at bay. As she sat down on the stark white bed she felt herself lose the battle, as the soft sheets of linen enveloped her, she sank into a deep dreamless sleep.

The sun rose once again, slowly spreading its long fingers, warming up the different areas of the village that it touched. She watched it slowly reach across the courtyard, towards the living quarters, where people slowly started moving, beginning their morning chores.   
Sleep had been an elusive envoy since that first night, she had desperately spent hours trying to fall back down that elusive black hole of rest that she had welcomed on her first night. However, she now spent her nights wandering, watching the coming and going of the strange people in this village. Even in the late hours of the night the villagers of Konoha barely seemed to sleep, the most active citizens seeming to be those in the green vest jackets. This intrigued her, she wanted to know if they were wearing some sort of uniform? What was its purpose? Why always so busy? There was a distinct grouping that often occurred, mainly in threes or fours they would move around, the majority of the groups had three members of the same or similar age and then, in the case of the four man groups, one older member, seemingly their supervisor. Her brain automatically stored this information for later use, why she did this she did not quite know, but it was still there. She could not quite display that she knew this information because she had been instructed to stay within the Hyuuga compound. When evening fell she was able to shake her detail and make full use of her short lived freedom.

It had been several days since the arrival of the strange girl, and every time he set foot in his home, it felt like an irritant under his skin, he struggled to focus on his training, and it was going strongly downhill, whenever he decided to train at home. It had become so bad, that he had, on a few occasions been so distracted, that Hinata, who until recently was considered the weakest link in the family, had been able to best him, even though he was considered the prodigy of the second branch family.  
He could still taste the sand in his mouth from when he had hit the floor. The shock on his face had only been mirrored by Hinata’s, because neither of them had been expecting such a turn of events. She had rarely gotten the upper hand, never mind knocking him to the floor, and his mood had been dark for the rest of the day. He now turned to training in the forest whenever he could, sparring with Lee and Tenten whenever they were free, dreading the moment he had to go back. He would step through the archway and his eyes snapped to the door of her room, he would do this with a reflex like motion, today he realised that he had been standing there, actually staring at the closed door, as if hoping to see some movement behind it. Shaking himself out of his reverie, he looked down at himself and noticed that he was covered in grime and dirt from the days excursion, so he headed out to the bathhouse, which was an alone standing building in the corner of the compound. As his stride carried him towards his source of cleanliness, he decided, that for the first time ever, he was going to go and see the Hokage, and request him for a mission, regardless of what it was, he would even take the lowest class one, as long as it got him out of the village. Still absentminded he reached the bathhouse, the smell of sulphur crept into his nose as the wind pulled across the hot spring that was deviated from the public hot springs, just for their convenience. Something he had only recently been exposed to. It was not split into gender sections, as it was not a public bath and was intended for the use of two people at most. There was a lock on the door to signal the occupation of the bath, which he flipped up.

His body broke into pleasant goose bumps as he entered the dark, damp cloakroom, he stopped and felt the soft woven mats wrinkle under his bare feet, he let his white shirt slide down off his shoulders, gathering at his waist where he had tied the black protective covering his loose fitting pants. Before removing these, he flexed his muscles, stretching out his battle hardened shoulders and arms, briefly brushing the circular scar on his chest that stood out from the rest covering his body. Despite the warmth within, he still felt a chill once all of his clothing items had been removed, so he quickly wrapped his lower body in a warm, soft towel and headed to the much anticipated warm, clean water, following the heat to the inner room. A wash of warm air and steam greeted him as he pulled open the door, he stepped forward, moving deeper into the steam, he dropped his towel, longing for the warm embrace of the heated water, but froze as a sound caught his attention.  
A figure emerged out of the steam, her long auburn hair flowing down her back, streaming with water, her back arched in an elegant yet well muscled curve backwards, her hands smoothing unruly strands of hair away from her face. It was her, she was not in her room, annoyance flickered across his face, he had been staring at an empty room. Abruptly his emotion changed, hold on, here she was and he had just walked in on her! He had to get out, and fast, in his haste he faltered and tripped over his towel, landing hard on his back. Her head snapped back over her shoulder, as if in reflex she threw her arms up over her breasts and dropped down into the opaque water. He rose slowly, trying to keep what was left of his dignity intact, and kept eye contact, betrayed by the heat he felt rising up his neck and face. Turning he stalked out as fast as he could, leaving his towel behind on the floor, knowing that his dignity was entirely lost, since it could not be clearer to her that, despite his angry expression, he had been pleased by what he had seen.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5  
Well that had been eventful. She had not expected a visitor during her attempt at using the bath house again, of course she had been wondering how exactly you stopped people from wandering in while the bath house was in use, but as of yet, it had not been an issue, she had not been able to locate the lock, and had thought it was normal, since many of the doors had no locks to speak of. As unexpected as the surprise visit had been, she could not say it was unpleasant entirely, for Neji was not unpleasant to look at with his clothes on, and now she had seen all of him, and, with a draining revelation she realized, he had also seen all of her. Warmth crept up her neck to her face and her knees went a little weak, oh dear. She would be lying if she told herself that she had not thought about Neji in a few very odd ways, including in the same manner that she had just been exposed to, or that many of her sleepless nights were because of him.  
Not surprisingly, tonight was another restless night, her insomnia kicking in, but there was another underlying note that night. Every time she closed her eyes, there he was, in all his gloriousness, Neji, his outlines lightly blurred by the damp, steamy air, his hair gleaming as it caught hold of the moisture in the air, his skin starting to glisten as the warm air condensed against it and the distinct shape of his strong muscles rippling as he moved. A smile crept up her face as she recalled his slip and fall, neither of which left her with much to imagine, slowly her smile faded as she recalled the lighter patches of scars on his body. He had obviously lived a hard life, to carry so many memories of old wounds.

What he had seen had been nothing new to him, having worked closely with a girl on his team, he had experienced feelings of attraction before, but nothing like this. He had seen girls in all kinds of ways, being a very popular young man, and he knew it, girls had taken it upon themselves to try and court him, and even though he had never taken advantage of any one of them, keeping strictly to his code of honour. Something was different this time though, he had lost his cool here, he never lost his cool, and she was at the centre of this reaction. The occurrence this evening had fanned into flames something that he had been suppressing for a while now and he could not repell her from within him. He had no time for this and decided that in the morning, he would go and see the Hokage, at the earliest moment possible. He just HAD to put distance between them and he would do so by taking on any mission available, even ones that he considered below his rank. Unbidden the steamy image of her in the expansive bath burst into his mind. Groaning, he threw himself back onto his soft bed, his hear spreading haphazardly over his pillow as he closed his eyes, trying desperately to sink into a dreamless sleep.  
It had been utterly useless, while he had been able to achieve somewhat of a semblance of sleep, it had been less than restful and even further from dreamless. He awoke very frustrated as the dawn lightened the sky over the cliffs that surrounded his village. The dreams that plagued him were of the steamy sort, matching the previous night’s incidents and it had made waking up more uncomfortable than usual. Eventually he had given in to his wakefulness in the early hours, and was now pacing in front of the closed doors to the hokage’s office. As the sun started to crest over the masses of treetops, a bleary eyed Kakashi came strolling into his office, his one visible eye frowning as soon as it found Neji standing in the hallway. Quickly he pushed open the doors to his office, gently holding the steaming mug of tea in his other hand, and strode briskly into the circular office. At first Neji was slightly taken aback by the sudden urgency of Kakashi’s motions upon seeing him, realising with a pang, that Kakashi probably assumed there was something amiss with their visitor, who had been put under his watch. While he was not entirely wrong, Neji was sure that Kakashi would take a dim view of his perspective, he decided to set things straight immediately, thus avoiding any misunderstandings.  
“Hokage-Sama” he started, “I have come to inform you that our guest seems to be settling in just fine, she seems to be happy with us and Lady Hinata is making sure that she has everything she needs.”  
There was palpable relief in Kakashi’s eye and Neji found himself relaxing in return, now he could ask for his favour.  
“I however seem to be redundant in that area, so I wish to request a mission as I dislike being idle.”  
Kakashi was giving him a suspicious look, which quickly turned into one of mischief as Neji spoke.  
“It is somewhat early in the day for such a request, why, I wonder, do you need to make the request at the break of day?” Kakashi said, with a hint of amusement in his voice.  
“I do, however, have the perfect mission for you. Since you mention our guest, I believe she has not been let out of your compound since her arrival?” his voice was quizzical.  
“Correct sir.” Replied Neji  
“Good, now I want you to be her escort for one day, get to know her, find out exactly who or what she is.” As he spoke, Neji noticed his Hokage’s eye flicker towards the top drawer of his desk, it was an ill kept secret that Kakashi kept his erotic books in there, and it was obvious that he wanted Neji to leave soon.   
“Show her our beautiful town, without exposing us too much to her; now you may leave” drawled the Hokage, leaning back in his red swivel chair.  
Walking out of the building, Neji could not believe his luck, or the lack thereof. All he had wanted was some distance to clear his head, now he had to spend an entire day with her! Why on earth would Kakashi utilize him, Neji Hyuuga, as a tour guide? What kind of games was he playing? This was the kind of mission rookies, or someone like Naruto used to get, not him, as a prodigy he had always been given high ranking missions, and he had earned his reputation as genius. He was, after all, the strongest Hyuuga of his age, and had won many battles, but now here he was, a mere escort to a stranger. What’s more, a stranger that distracted him in such a way that he just could not comprehend why he reacted to her in such a manner. It could not be because she was female, there were many women, both ninja and non-ninja, that had tried for his affections, but none had disturbed him in such a manner.   
He stopped, he had been standing in front of her door. He did not know when he had arrived, and he clicked his tongue in frustration, this was what he had been worrying about, this kind of distraction, it was not who he was. He was always alert, he never just wandered or forgot where he was going. Slowly it came to his realisation that not only was he standing at her door, but that it was open, and she was standing in the doorway. Travelling up from her feet, where his eyes had rested in his deep thoughts, he let his eyes travel up her. She was dressed more suitably now, obviously wearing some of Hinata’s old clothes. A cream jacket and long dark pants with sandals now fit her quite snugly, accenting her figure in ways that it never had for a younger, slightly more awkward Hinata. Since she was shorter than Hinata, it only stood to reason that she should wear something from Hinata’s youth. His pale eyes now reached her face, from which her long hair was now drawn back into a tight ponytail, their eyes connected, his pupil less ones meeting her bright green ones for a split second, before both glanced away, shuffling awkwardly in each other’s presence. To anyone watching, it was painfully obvious that they shared an awkward secret.


	6. Making a new friend

Their awkward mood did not lift, even later, and Neji found himself becoming the silent tour guide, which made her nervous. They had tried to engage in small talk a few times, but each time it would fizzle out into long strange silences. Each time these silences stretched, unbidden thoughts crept into her mind, and much as she tried to shake them off, they would always just appear without warning. More disturbing, were the flashbacks that would shadow a surge of emotion, like shadows that crept into her mind’s eye and taunted her, just out of her reach.  
After what seemed like an hour of walking, she stopped to admire the delicious smell wafting out of a store front that made something called Ramen. To her surprise a bubbly youth in a bright orange and black jumpsuit came bursting out from under the cloths that covered part of the entrance. The youth looked straight at Neji, who had come to a halt beside her,  
“Yo Neji!” he called loudly as he draped his arm around Neji’s shoulders. Neji looked seriously disgruntled with this turn of events, as the boy with the yellow hair pulled him closer, turned in her direction and asked him if she was... not ending the sentence with words, but with a finger motion, sticking his pinkie straight up in the air. She frowned as Neji’s cheeks lightly coloured pink, she did not understand what the yellow haired boy had meant, but Neji was obviously discomforted and roughly pulled out of the boy’s embrace.  
“Odd” she thought” obviously that has significant meaning, but I will never know what it means”   
Feeling a bit lost and lonely, she turned her back on the boys, and with her stomach growling, headed towards the small ramen store, where she was promptly joined by the boy with the yellow hair.  
“Oh hai yo Naruto!”came the greeting from the other side of the counter top that separated the kitchen from the front of the small store. The counter had two levels, each at a different height, lined up in front were several bar stools, one of which the boy named Naruto plopped himself down on. The greeting had been uttered by an elderly man wearing a paper chef’s hat, who seemed to be accompanied by, she guessed, his daughter. It was obvious that Naruto was a regular, but not because of the greeting he had received, but also because he had not said a word about food, when a bowl, of what seemed to be soup, was placed before him. When the older gentleman looked at her, she had no idea what to do, she did not even know what kind of food this was, having eaten only what had been provided for her by the mansion staff. She opened her mouth, but hesitated, “two ichiraku ramen specials please”, she jumped as the deep voice of Neji came from her other side, he had sat down on the stool beside her. His proximity made her quite uncomfortable, she felt the heat radiating from him, and the clean smell of grass and dirt gently floated over to her, he must have gotten in some morning practice out in the woods before they had gone on their excursion. She smiled softly as she imagined him out in the middle of nowhere, moving in the graceful manner she had seen him use when he was sparring with his uncle, the sweat running down his body. She started as she realised that in her imagination, Neji was not wearing a shirt, and she became very aware that he had been sitting beside her, looking intently in her direction. She cocked her head to the side, and with her cheeks colouring slightly she asked snappily, “what?”, going straight into the defensive. His face instantly took on a stony look, “all I wanted to know is if you liked spicy food or not”, oh face palm, she had not even realised he had been speaking to her. Then a second realisation hit her, what foods did she like? She shook her head, keeping her eye contact unbroken.  
“what!?” came the exclamation from next to her, the orange clad boy with the mischievous face lent over, “you don’t know?” he glanced at Neji, “then we have to find out! No better place to start the Ichiraku Ramen!” He turned back to the elderly gentleman and yelled “one of each old man!” Neji spluttered, who was going to pay for this? “Oh come one Neji! She HAS to try it, she cannot miss out on the flavour! Besides, how does she not know what she likes?” Neji glanced at her, trying to shoot her a warning look. There was a reason why she had been kept hidden up until now. Clearing her throat “I think I was climbing trees just outside of town, when I fell and hit my head. Now I remember nothing of my past” 

He stared at her for a moment, then slapped his hand down on the counter. 

“This is not right!” he leaped off his stool and sauntered over to Neji, put his arm around him and said: we will help you find your memories no matter what!” While Neji looked slightly disgruntled, he did not motion a complaint. They were interrupted by the arrival of several bowls of food being placed on the counter. Each bowl contained some sort of clear broth, but there was a large variety of delicious ingredients that floated in each, and as she looked from one bowl to the next, they all looked more appetizing than the last, her stomach growling loudly, she could not wait to dig into the one closest to her. The hearty smell of the steaming broth rose up to her, the colourful ingredients floating in it, some known to her, others not. In this one there was an egg, some sort of meat and a few vegetables, what she assumed to be a kind of mushroom also decorated the beautiful dish. Watching the other two, she lifted her chopsticks and dug in.

A few hours later they emerged from the Ramen shop, feeling happy and well fed. The atmosphere between the three more relaxed, as they walked side by side in the growing dusk, watching as the lights were being turned on, one after the other, the atmosphere around them a soft warm caress, just the beginning of summer, sneaking through the light warmth of spring. Together they strolled along the main street that ran down the centre of Konoha, Naruto walking with his hands clasped behind his head, Neji walking just a step to the side of them, trying, probably subconsciously, to keep a certain amount of distance between them, as if wishing not to be a part of their company, but the relaxed way he walked suggested he was actually enjoying their conversation, being a part of the group. He did not speak much, but it was obvious, by the way that he and Naruto behaved around each other, that they were very comfortable with one another, that they had shared many experiences. Feeling a bit like an outsider she walked quietly between the boys but the calm atmosphere put her at ease as she took in the bright surroundings of the evening life in the village. People were walking among the colourful stores, the smells from the restaurants wafting around them.  
They walked in silence for quite some time, just letting the sounds and sights of the village pass by as they wandered from street to street, this time, the lack of words was not awkward, for each seemed content to just be there. When they came to the parting of their ways, they stopped as if by some unspoken signal. Naruto leant back, and with his now characteristic gesture, he once more put his hands behind his head and grinned. Neji kept his stoic expression and nodded; both turned on their heels and walked in opposite directions. She stood frowning for a few seconds, then moved to catch up with her escort, who was stubbornly on his way home. She smiled softly to herself as she watched his almost perfectly straight back, his long curtain of dark brown hair tapering into the band holding the ends together, “a man on a mission” she told herself, and sped up to walk at his side. 

Seconds later they were walking side by side, into the sunset, and with a startled blush she thought how romantic this looked. The soft, warm, light cast a golden highlights all around them, almost setting the world a glow in orange and red hues. The lights played in Neji ‘s pristine hair, and she could not miss that despite the soft breeze, his hair hardly moved, just lightly brushing against his face, enhancing his handsomeness. The same breeze made cherry blossoms dance across the sky in a wash of colours, “how cliché” flashed across her mind. She frowned, what on earth? What was cliché? Where had that thought come from? For a second, a memory flashed through her mind and she grabbed at it. As quickly as it had come, it leapt beyond her grasp, leaving just a shadow behind, one that was dull and blurred and frustrated her to no end. A soft pull at her hand brought her back to the present and her green eyes focused on Neji, concern in his eyes, standing right in front of her. Slowly her eyes dropped down and with a tingle of electricity, she realised, he was holding her hand. Goosebumps erupted up her arm, their trail causing the hairs on her body to stand up. It felt as if she had touched a very low charge of electricity, and she liked it.  
He stood there staring at his hand.   
Not sure what to make of the contact he was experiencing, looking up, he found she too was frozen, and, as if he had been burnt, he released her hand, pushing it towards her, more roughly than intended, and for a split second he thought he saw hurt and disappointment flash across her face, before it was replaced with that self-same placid expression she wore as a mask.  
The rest of their trip back was one of silence, neither saying a word, each looking everywhere but the other. Reaching the sprawling Hyuuga estate, they mumbled their good nights and left in a hurry, each dying to get back to their rooms.  
She moved as fast as she could, straight into her room, sliding the door hastily shut behind her with a clack of wood. Why on earth did he affect her so? The night grew dark and she cleared her mind. If she wanted this nightly excursion to be successful, she could not have Neji crowding her mind, his rippling muscles, his luscious hair, his pale eyes... no, he had to be locked away, and she had to have absolute focus.


	7. Caught in the act

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caught sneaking out once again, our protagonist finds herself in trouble.

Later that evening she was once again preparing to escape from her extravagantly large room, having lost, once again, the fight for sleep. Surprisingly, she did not feel worse for wear, the couple of hours she caught ever other night seemed to suffice. As quietly as she could, she shifted the door that would lead to her nightly freedom and stepped out into the inner courtyard. Glancing around, she stuck to the shadows, knowing that her usual watch was complacent and tired by now, though, oddly she thought, she could not sense them nearby. Maybe they had given up by now. Making her way to a large tree that grew close to the roof, she made sure not to disturb the sand, or step on any of the floorboards that might creak. Her extended stay in this compound had given her time to work out exactly how to do this without making a sound. Having reached the tree, she glanced around, and lifted herself easily onto the first branch, with a practised leap. She had done this so many times, that the leap was one of muscle memory. Her leap took her into the tree, and as soon as she had panted her feet, she pushed off and glided over the wall in a fluid cat-like motion.

The moment she landed, she knew something was wrong. Lifting her head, which she had ducked down on impact, her eyes caught sight of 3 pairs of feet, which she recognised as those of her two watchers and, none other than Kakashi himself. It had taken some time, but she had found out that as Hokage, he was one of the most important people in the village. Her heart sank, she heard more footsteps approaching, she had been caught.   
It was not until she looked over at Neji, who was one of the people who had approached from behind, that she realised, with confusion, that the looks on her captor’s faces were that of concern. Hinata, who was standing next to Neji, was looking at her intently, with both concern and a bit of disappointment in her eyes. The collected attention was making her more than uncomfortable, especially the single focus she was receiving from Neji. When she pulled her eyes from his face, she looked over at Kakashi, and noticed a very obvious smirk on his face, which confused her even more. 

“I am glad to see you enjoy exploring our beautiful village”, he said, with humour in his voice. He did not sound angry, he sounded amused, if she had to pin point the emotion.  
It had taken several weeks to figure out that she snuck out at night. A chance second of luck, or not, was the reason that she had been caught at all. He did some serious reprimanding after that. Of all the 10 ninjas he had put on guard, not a single one of his best had even noticed that she left her room every night. After giving yet another detail the slip, Kakashi had decided he would tail her himself, and it turned out to be an interesting night, what people exposed when they thought they were alone, especially in this case, could end up being very helpful to him. She had shown him some extraordinary talents, which he could put to use. He also knew exactly where she would be needed.


	8. A new start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neji and Kagame start a tenuous partnership. Constructed by Kakashi, they are thrown together as a team.

Her head swam, there was just too much... Having been caught my them, this was the end. Having disobeyed most of their rules and restrictions, with her nightly excursions, she wondered what they did to people like her. Would she end up in prison? Maybe they would throw her out, even though she was not from here. This was the only place that she currently knew, and because of her ventures, now knew very well. What she would do, where she would go, was beyond her, she knew nothing of the forest beyond those walls, except for her brief time during her arrival. Prison would almost be better, at least she would have somewhere to live.  
Standing, once again, in the circular office that housed Kakashi and his stacks of paperwork, she waited for their verdict, refusing to look guilty, she kept her back straight and looked directly at the spiky-haired man seated at the centre of the very large table.   
He peered at her, past the many stacks of paper that now cluttered his desk, she felt a small tinge of sympathy, the poor man had so much work to do, running a place as busy and in such turmoil, could not be easy. For a split second she wished she could be of some assistance, but then she hardened her heart, if she was going to be thrown out anyway, why should she feel for him?   
After a few minutes of awkward silence, Kakashi leant back, and with the telltale crinkling of his lone, exposed eye, he smiled up at her, “I think, that it is time to decide on a name for you, assuming you have not yet chosen one of your own?”, Kakashi cut straight to the chase. 

She stood rooted to the spot, a name... something she had not thought about in a while. Mostly left to her own devices, almost never speaking to anyone, she had not yet found the need of a name. “Um, no name yet, I have not yet needed one” she replied.

Neji felt a little abashed by this, he never referred to her by a name, just a pronoun, not thinking, or even recalling that she had no name at all.  
A curious voice interrupted his thoughts, “Why?, why should you pick a name for me? Why do I need a name?”  
“Well when you accompany a team on a mission, we will have to call you by something, won’t we?”  
The shocked silence stretched out, everyone, save for Kakashi just stood there. The first person to move was Shikamaru, “Hokage-sama, is this your final decision?” his voice hinted at a hidden smirk, and when he met Kakashi’s eye, he broke into a grin, knowing what he knew, he could not help but feel some satisfaction.  
His expression irked her, what did he know that she did not? Why on earth was she being chosen to go on missions? She was unfamiliar with those procedures, but she knew, from her nights out, that they were dangerous and it was not uncommon for ninjas to not come home after some of the more dangerous ones.  
“I realise that I cannot order you to do anything, since you do not actually belong to this village and you have no connection to us, but I wish to give you the chance to explore beyond our borders, I feel that if we keep you cooped up for too long, then you will just waste away.”

True she had been feeling a bit restless lately and very unmotivated, so if they were ready to accept her, then yes, she would go, she yearned for the outside world, and maybe to get her mind off a certain someone.  
Nodding she said “I agree, I would gladly go out on missions” She did not want to seem too eager.

“Excellent, well then, Shikamaru will brief you on the rules, I have to get back to work.” with that, she was dismissed and Shikamaru stepped forward.  
“Wait, Neji, please stay” Shikamaru called after Neji’s retreating back, all other ninjas involved had been departing, happy to return to their duties. “Tsk, this is going to be troublesome, but I need to explain to both of you, how is this going to work.” He stepped aside and ushered them into an empty, dark office that opened onto the winding, circular hallway. They strode in, one after the other, Shikamaru closing the door behind him.  
“So this is how it is going to work, the name that we have chosen for you is Kagame, and you are now paired with Neji. Not only does he know you a little, since you have spent some time with her, but he has also spent time accepting some lower ranking missions, and this makes him perfect as your mentor in this situation. You will work together until you are able to take on more challenging missions. Is that ok for you?”  
“Yes Shikamaru sama” she had learnt to address superiors by watching the others speak to theirs, and just by listening, she had picked up the language to such an extent that she was almost fluent in it.  
Neji stood there, flabbergasted. What had just happened? How had his ploy to get some distance from his Number one distraction just backfire on him? All he could do was stand and listen to Shikamaru, not letting on at the turmoil raging within him. He had to keep up appearance. Unable to control himself, his eyes kept darting to catch glances of her, she, like him, was showing little emotion, and he wondered if she cared at all. Catching himself he thought “Why do I even care?”  
“Do we understand everything?”Shikamaru’s voice pulled his thoughts up short.

“Yes, Shikamaru-sama”, he replied quickly “I will do as instructed”  
“Tsk” came the short irritated sound from the dark eyed youth, “this sama business is just too troublesome”. He looked briefly at the two of them, smiled, and then left the room, leaving the two alone.  
She stood there for a minute, staring into the unlit room, which had obviously been an office. Her gaze focused on a small beam of light that was pushing through the blinds that covered the windows. “So he is only doing his duty after all” she thought to herself, “man I feel stupid, thinking he might accept me as a friend”. Though deep inside she heard soft laughter, friend? That is not all. “Ok, Ok thoughts going in the wrong direction here.”

They walked out together after having received their mission brief. She was a bit confused. Chasing down a runaway cat? This should be a job for animal welfare, not ninjas. Though Neji did seem a bit apprehensive about this, maybe this was a special cat of sorts, you never knew in this strange place. It could be interesting. After all, she had seen ninjas returning from other missions, often looking worse for wear, sometimes with less members than they had left with.


	9. That one mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The protagonists move forward in their relationship.

Since their first mission together, she and Neji had been working together almost tirelessly, jumping from one mission to the next, regardless of how trivial the goal.   
She felt her confidence increase, her strength, which had been slowly waning, was returning and she felt right again, the restless feeling became almost non-existent and she started feeling like herself, as if she was returning to a long set out routine.   
Her relationship, or rather lack thereof with Neji, was still a thorn in her side. She did not know where she stood with him. Neji fluctuated between solemn and surely, to, very rarely, making a sarcastic comment, or telling a story about the village. The latter were moments she cherished dearly.  
During their time as a support team she learnt many things about herself and most of these ended up surprising her. She found she had exceptional control over something called chakra, and had in a short period of time, been able to mould it with wonderful success and often, during their sparring sessions she had started to beat him back.

There was one mission that still haunted her today, though it had occurred a while ago.  
She and Neji were receiving more and more dangerous missions and together they would complete one after the other, but this one confused and scared her.  
She had been made aware of, and had encountered people, beings and even creatures in this place that had amazing and dangerous abilities, from controlling the elements, to contorting reality, but so far, none had an impact like this one.  
Encountering someone with physical strength was one thing, she could counter this with strategy and teamwork. The psychological abilities left her feeling more vulnerable, and there were a few that had already touched a nerve when she was targeted. The previous instances were the reason why she had put so much time into guarding her mind, because she knew that often the attacker was vulnerable when they could not reach their target’s mind. Kagame had learnt, with lots of time, to protect herself against what they locals called genjutsu.  
While she had prepared herself for such attacks, she had not prepared herself for the instance when such an attack took hold of Neji.   
They had been sitting around the evening fire, a small flame that was semi concealed, since they had cleared the surrounding area of threats, they were readying themselves to settle down for the night, Kagame prepared to take the first shift of watch.  
She enjoyed these moments, the calm between the storms, where even Neji relaxed to the point where his sullen mask would drop. It was no surprise then, that the attack came when they let their guard down. However, because of her extensive training, she was able to deflect the barrage on her mind.   
Unfortunately the psychological attack bounced from her mind, to Neji’s, catching him completely unaware, and so fast, that she had no time to utter a warning shout.   
Suddenly Neji was gone.   
In his place was someone colder and harder and it dawned on her just how much Neji was holding back during their sparring lesson. He was fast. Faster than she could have imagined, and his movements blurred as her barrelled put attack after attack. She knew from her time with him that he was a close to mid-range fighter, but he was so fast that she could put no distance between them so that she could counter his style. It was the one advantage she would have over him. She could adapt to almost any style of fighting, but that did not help her at all, if he would not let her get in even so much as a blow. The fear that gripped her was one she had not experienced before. There was no arguing that she had indeed been scared during multiple of her missions, and that danger was always a factor, but this fear was completely different. It gripped her heart and filled her with dread. Every time she moved it was as if she was being drenched with an ice cold bucket of water, and this subsequently slowed down her own movements. She found, disturbingly, that she could not bring herself to harm Neji, and each time she missed a chance to retaliate, she felt more and more helpless. In addition to the fear, panic was starting to grip her as she struggled to keep his furious blows from finding their mark. Knowing full well that any contact would result in the loss of chakra use from that point on. She desperately ducked and manoeuvred, wherever she could, and, steeling herself, finally found an opening. Sweeping her leg in a quick downwards motion, she ridiculously stepped on his toe, not something a skilled fighter would normally do, successfully tripping him up. With a shout of surprise his momentum pushed him hard into the ground, a large rock finding his forehead, and he was still.

Fear and dread climbed up her body in icy shivers as she saw the dust settle around his limp, seemingly lifeless body. She sprinted over to him and slid to a halt, her hands grasping for his neck as she flipped him over, desperately groping for vital signs against his warm, damp skin.  
Relief flooded over her as she felt the slight pulse shifting under her fingers. Stepping forward she gathered him up and carried him back to camp, setting him down next to their small fire.   
While she was building the fire up, she heard Neji faintly stirring and she turned around, her heart beating quickly as she anticipated seeing his pale eyes staring at her, letting her know that she had built the fire incorrectly, but this was not the case. Neji was thrashing, throwing his limbs around him, as if fending off an unseen enemy.  
If she could only wake him, reach out and touch him, then she could save him from these painful nightmares. This turned out to be a difficult task, since even on his back and tangled in a light sleeping bag, Neji was a formidable opponent, especially one that she did not wish to harm. He lashed out repeatedly, in a wild frenzy, and even though she considered herself fast, some of his chakra managed to cut into her and sometimes glance off her in painful attacks, showing just how strong his chakra moulding abilities were. He managed to free himself from his sleeping bag and sprang upright.

After many minutes of dodging, doubling back and creeping forward, she finally reached him, and even though he desperately tried to kill her, she gently rested her hand on his solid chest and pulsed a considerable amount of her own chakra into him, in an attempt to cleanse the enemy out of his system. It did not take long until his jerking motions started to slow and eventually Neji collapsed, sinking down onto the sleeping bag. Kagame felt the fatigue of her chakra loss overcome her, and as the edges of her vision turned dark, she too sank to the ground and collapsed onto Neji, unable to stop her full weight from dropping down onto him.

 

He found himself fighting to awaken, as if from depths of fear and anger, he struggled to return to the safety of the waking world, the nightmares that had plagued him causing his heart to beat rapidly. He could not recall even falling asleep. Before he opened his eyes, he felt an oppressive weight on his chest and panic gripped him once more. He struggled to push it off, but found his arms pinned down between him and the warm weight that held him down. His eyes flew open and he froze. Staring straight down at him were two deep green eyes that sparkled with concern. He felt himself relax, then tense up once more, but for a whole other reason. She was in such close proximity to him that he could feel her body heat, a welcome sensation to that of the cold from the ground. He could see a vein pulsing in her neck and most of all, he could smell her. Her scent was unlike any he had experienced before, it was sweet, but not cloyingly so. It crept into his nose, washing over him. While there was a slight undertone of fear, it served to enhance his experience and he breathed deeply.   
His eyes had always been his primary sense, but this time it was his nose that gave him a whole new insight, into a world previously unknown to him. Neji could count her eyelashes, every freckle was visible to him and could find no flaw. Their eyes met and they held their gaze for a good long while, a smile creeping over Neji’s face as he saw her colour deepen the longer they held. A sudden impulse took him, and using his fighting abilities, hooked a leg around her waist , pushed against her and used his body weight as momentum, flipping her onto her back, successfully pinning her beneath him. She looked so shocked, with her eyes wide open and mouth slightly agape, that he found ehr irresistible. Spurred on by his surprise success, as it was not easy catching her off guard, his adrenaline kicking it up a notch, Neji lent in, without thinking about it, and planted a quick soft kiss on her soft lips, smiling as he saw her eyes widen, and hear her breath hitch.  
He lifted his head and found himself surprised in turn, as a strong arm pulled him back down, their lips meeting, this time in a hard more passionate kiss, her embrace changing from a vice grip, to a caress, her hand wrapped in his hair. Neji felt an urgency arise in him, for the first time in a long time, desire stirred deep within him, a heat was building and he longed for the sweet release that he had denied himself for so long.   
A sharp snap came out of the depths of the trees and the two of them sprang apart, chests heaving, standing alert, a whole different version of adrenaline kicking into action, ready to defend themselves, and each other at a moment’s notice, but nothing came. They relaxed, each taking a deep breath, the glanced awkwardly at one another. As if on a given signal, they turned away from each other, and walked to the farthest part of the camp, each finding a tree to sit against. Sleep was out of the picture now.


	10. What are friends for?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Struggling with her emotions our protagonist turns to friends for help.

Kagame felt guilt arise in her as she looked at her friend. Hinata was one of those people who just oozed innocence. Only those who knew her well knew that the sweet soft spoken young woman could pack a severe punch, especially when protecting those she loved. The faint scars on her hands were living proof of this, since not that long ago, Hinata had been willing to give her life for the man she loved, and had paid dearly for such a sacrifice. If anyone knew about unrequited love, it was the slender, beautiful Hyuuga standing in front of her. Kagame took a deep breath, but changed her mind. “I am sorry, I just have not been feeling myself lately” she finished lamely. 

“I know just how to fix that” came a rich voice from behind her. A tall blonde bombshell of a woman came around the corner, her voluptuous hips swaying seductively in their short purple skirt, her long smooth hair falling down to the small of her exposed back, as it was tied up in an envyingly beautiful ponytail. Everything about this woman shouted confidence, the sparkling blue eyes twinkling with playfulness as she approached.

“Ino!”Hinata called out “it is so good to see you!”  
Ino had just returned from a mission and, as usual had the skill to look fabulous.  
“So what do you girls say to a ladies night out?? Just us girls, some alcohol and a good time?”  
“Sakura and Tenten will be coming as well” 

Kagame hesitated. AS much as she enjoyed their company, she just wanted to go to her room and sulk, something that had become somewhat of a routine. After much needling and joking, Hinata and Ino won her over, and so here she was, seated between Ino and Sakura, at their favourite barbeque place, the pink haired Sakura laughing at a joke that the dark haired weapon’s specialist Tenten had just told. Tenten had been one of Neji’s old teammates, before the war, and had known him for a long time. Often, she knew what Kagame was going through, so it was no surprise that, in a conversation lull, she turned to Kagame and asked 

“You and Neji have been taking on a lot of mission together lately, how are you handling him?”

The angry blush that crept up her neck was unstoppable, and she could not hide her discomfort, so she glared at her food.   
“Its ok I guess, he can just be so rude at times!” the outburst came out of nowhere and she blinked in surprise. Ino leant over, a pink blush in her cheeks, thanks to the copious amounts of sake.

“Do I sense a different kind of frustration here?”

Damn Ino, she always picked things out in a heartbeat.

Flustered she replied, in a slightly higher pitched voice than usual “No! That’s really it!!”

“Uh huh. Hinata? Is that really it?”  
Hinata gave a mischievous smile; she had been expecting something like this.

“I knew it!” Ino’s voice rang across the restaurant. “You two have been spending far too much time together for this not to happen. Well what are girlfriends for? We want all the details!”

Kagame looked around at four expectant pair of eyes, each a different colour of the spectrum, though a slight curve of unhappiness in Tenten’s mouth did not escape her notice. With a loud sigh she gave in and told her friends everything.  
Sakura sat back and blew out a breath. Her green eyes looked sad. She too knew about the troubles of the heart all too well. After a minute of silence, the girls bombarded her with suggestions, advice and sympathies.   
Many rounds of sake, and other colourful drinks later, the girls left for home. Kagame and Hinata, walking together side by side, to their shared home.

“Maybe you should just go for it”

Kagame blinked, this sentence had come out rushed and breathless. Hinata looked at the floor, took a deep breath and looked up, making strong eye contact with her, the pale eyes gleaming in the moonlight.   
“He needs to know how you feel. This... is the one thing I regret when it comes to Naruto. I did not tell him earlier and we lost so much time together just because I could not step forward and tell him how I feel.”  
Kagame stared at Hinata, “maybe I should” emboldened by the alcohol, the thought burned in her mind till they got back to the mansion. Walking the rest of the way, engaging in casual conversation, enjoying the night air, which was cool, compared to the warmth of the day. A soft breeze caressing them, and making the surrounding trees sing their evening lullaby. “Maybe I should just go for it...”


	11. Journeys end in Lovers Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So here the final chapter, Neji and Kagame find each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here is the final chapter to my very first try at writing, anything. This chapter was going to be waay steamier, but my courage just left me and I ended up with this...

After having said good night to Hinata, Kagame sat on her bed, unable to sleep and restless, her alcohol fuelled brain conjuring up images and feelings she had worked so hard to suppress. As if she had made up her mind in a flash, she pushed herself up off her bed and, without so much as a moment’s hesitation stumbled out of her room, onto the wooden walkway that connected the rooms, heading straight for Neji’s room. Of course she had its location burned into her brain. Once she reached his door she purposefully reached out and slid open the door. It rattled open with a much louder bang than she had planned, but there he was, lying there, his face resting in such a peaceful expression, one that he was usually devoid of during his waking hours. His usually immaculate hair was spread around him in a mass, but this only made him seem cuter to her. 

A small voice in the back of her mind told her that this was ridiculous. She was a strong independent woman, who would never do this, but this voice was quickly beaten back by a much louder roar of desire. He had just turned in his sleep and the blanket covering him had slipped off his bare chest, causing the small amount of light in the room to highlight his perfect body.  
She walked towards him, mesmerized by the unusual peaceful look in his face. Kagame was so busy staring at his sleeping form, that she did not notice the crumpled bedding until her feet caught on it. She slammed down, barely catching herself before she smacked into Neji’s face , pain exploding from her forehead as they collided.

Neji woke with a start as he felt a sharp pain that shocked him out of his sleep. His first instinct was to roll over on his side, he tried to leap out of bed, but got caught in his own bedding and slammed with a resounding smack into the floor. He froze, hearing a badly stifled giggle from the other side of his bed. Looking around he caught sight of Kagame kneeling beside his bed, one of her long fingered hands holding onto her forehead as she blinked owlishly up at him. He instantly felt a rush of embarrassment as he realised he was wearing his boxers with the heart shaped print on them, in pink and white, a gift from his cousin Hinata. 

The look on his face was so endearing, she could hardly restrain herself, and her new alcoholised alter-ego told her she did not have to. Moving faster than she thought possible in her inebriated state, it was now or never.  
Her lips connected with his, hungrily pressing down, feeling the softness, the warmth of them beneath hers. Since their shared kiss in the forest, it had been all she could think about, and she had often found herself daydreaming about the sensation. This time however, the smell of forest and sweat was replaced by that of soap and fresh bedding. Of course she had added a few things during her imaginations. She could hardly believe it, here was her chance, she could make them real. She hesitated a bit when she felt him pull away from her contact, and she let out an involuntary moan of disappointment, which changed his disposition.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in tightly, suddenly returning her kiss with as much heat as hers. Her moan turned form one of disappointment to one of enjoyment and together they sank down onto the floor, removing each other’s clothing with desperate haste, exploring each inch of skin that was exposed with each fluttering piece of cloth. She felt her fingers tremble as Neji’s warmth radiated into her, his scent flowing over her as their limbs entangled, every possible connection that could be made, they made, and this night, she and Neji became one.

Dawn crested over the tress that surrounded the village, illuminating the dark greens of the trees, slowly changing them to luminescent greens. The first rays dancing into the room, falling onto the mussed bed, on which two figures lay entangled with one another in deep, satisfied slumber.

Kagame shifted slowly, smiling in happiness as her gaze sharpened fully on Neji’s sleeping face. The same peace as before lay on him. Her feelings of happiness started slipping from her as a strong feeling of trepidation crept up from the bottom of her stomach. She had been quite drunk last night, and in her mind she felt that she might have just overwhelmed Neji, rather than let him make up his mind by himself, and now that she had satisfied his needs, he might just push her aside. She lowly pushed herself up, and quietly started moving towards the door, when her arm jerked back sharply and she was stopped in her tracks. Neji had reached out and had grabbed her hand, having been woken by the absence of her presence by his side, he looked sheepishly up at her from the blankets. He pulled her gently back, wrapping his arms tightly around her, resting his head on hers, pressing a soft kiss into her hair. All of her trepidation flushed out of her, Neji felt more than just one night’s gratification, and though the future for them was unclear, she found that the things that had bothered her about her past were slowly vanishing. Here she was at home. Here she was safe.


End file.
